The Future of Communications: Discovering the Angels in Our Machines

Events

May 5

Free Webcast On-Demand

About the Event

Larry Weber, Chairman and CEO of Racepoint Global, an independent communications agency, hosted a virtual event (webcast) called "The Future of Communications: Discovering the Angels in Our Machines,” a conversation about society’s current role in the seventh wave of technology – one that marries humanity with technology.This webcast brought together thought-provoking speakers who shared their wisdom on the discussion of integrating humanity and the technologies that are shaping the human condition in this “new normal.” As we continue to make leaps and bounds in the world of technology, as a society, we continue to crave honest and authentic storytelling in the midst of countless innovations, and that’s where earned media will be crowned champion. Despite the communications industry being dominated by advertising and paid media, earned media will lead the communications industry coming out of the pandemic, as companies and brands worldwide will seek to tell their stories on a global scale.

Host

Larry Weber, CEO & Chairman, Racepoint Global

Larry is a globally known expert on public relations and marketing services, founder of several successful public relations and interactive marketing agencies and author of six forward-thinking marketing books. Recognized as a thought leader on the convergence of technology, the Web, and communications, Larry has helped both enterprise and emerging companies become powerhouse brands; his client experience includes ARM, AT&T, Boston Scientific, Coca-Cola, General Electric, General Motors, IBM, John Deere, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, PTC, Panasonic, the Pittsburgh Steelers, SAP, and Verizon Wireless.Larry has nearly 40 years of experience as CEO of both mid- and large-scale companies. He is co-founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX), the largest interactive advocacy organization in the world. Additionally, he sits on the Board of Directors for Pegasystems, Inc. (PEGA) in Cambridge, Mass. and Macromill Group (TYO:3730) in Japan. In January 2019, Larry released his latest book, Authentic Marketing: How to Capture Hearts and Minds Through the Power of Purpose, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Authentic Marketing discusses the need for all companies to have a corporate purpose in order to capture the hearts and minds of today’s audiences.

Guests

Nicholas Negroponte, Co-Founder, MIT Media Lab

Nicholas Negroponte is the co-founder (with Jerome B. Wiesner) of the MIT Media Lab (1985), which he directed for its first 20 years. A graduate of MIT, Negroponte was a pioneer in the field of computer-aided design and has been a member of the MIT faculty since 1966. He gave the first TED talk in 1984, as well as 13 since. He is author of the 1995 best seller, Being Digital, which has been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2005 he founded the non-profit One Laptop per Child, which deployed $1 billion of laptops for primary education in the developing world. In theprivate sector, Negroponte served on the board of directors of Motorola (for 15 years) and was general partner in a venture capital firm specializing in digital technologies for information and entertainment. He has personally provided start-up funds for more than 40 companies, including Zagats and Wired magazine.

Candace Johnson - Serial Satellite Entrepreneur and High-tech Investor

Candace Johnson is a serial satellite entrepreneur and high-tech investor who has always believed that technology is just a way to achieve a higher goal. As such, when she co-founded the SES-ASTRA satellite system in 1983, her goal was to bring "freedom of choice" to Europe's citizens in both Western and Eastern Europe. In 1990 when the Berlin Wall fell down and SES ASTRA was indeed bringing "freedom of choice" to all of Europe's citizens, she started Teleport Europe, Europe's first private trans-border telecommunication company bringing data, voice, and fax over satellite via the IP protocol to all of Europe's corporations wishing to do business in Eastern Europe. Teleport Europe was later sold to Loral and formed the backbone of their successful VSAT network around the world.The use of the Internet Protocol with corporations was a revelation to Candace and she resolved to bring IP to the consumer with Europe Online, the world's first IP-based online service in 1993 to allow "mothers to communicate with mothers around the world". It took 25 years and 3 iterations of Europe Online to finally make this goal happen, but Candace is happy that today the world has access to the Internet and Broadband Internet.In 1998, Candace architected SES Global to become the world's largest satellite system in 2001 to bring Mass-Consumer Broadband communications to the world.This was followed in 2006 by her creating, "The Festival of the Fourth Dimension: The world's first global festival of art, technology and science" because she felt that all those working in telecommunications and data communications needed to aspire to a greater goal of helping humanity and that art was the way to do this.During the last years after Candace spent the first 2 1/2 decades of her professional life bringing universal access to the world, she has now spent the last 15 years "accessing the universe" with her various projects, be it as Vice Chair of NorthStar Earth and Space, the world's first space-based Space Situational Awareness service; Birth helper and Investor in Kacific bringing broadband Internet to the Pacific Islands which in the times of Covid 19 is an essential service; Corporate Advisory Board Chair of Seraphim Space Fund, the world's largest space-tech dedicated venture fund; supporting "Astronautin" a mission to put an all female crew on the International Space Station; and being the ViceChair of Institut EuropIA, Europe's first Artificial Intelligence consortium binging researchers, corporations, and entrepreneurs together whose goal it is to bring back the "Human Touch" to Artificial Intelligence.Finally, and with relevance to today's webinar title, Candace is an avid Angel Investor and was President of EBAN European Business Angels Network from 2014 - 2018 during which time she helped co-found ABAN African Business Angels Network and MBAN MENA Business Angels Network.

David S. Rose, Inc. 500 CEO, Serial Entrepreneur, Angel Investor & Author

David S. Rose is an Inc. 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author and keynote speaker who has founded or funded over 100 pioneering companies. He has been described by Forbes as “New York’s Archangel”, by BusinessWeek as a “world conquering entrepreneur”, by Crain’s New York Business as “the father of angel investing in New York”, and by Red Herring magazine as “patriarch of Silicon Alley”. He is the New York Times best selling author of both Angel Investing: The Gust Guide to Making Money & Having Fun Investing in Startups and The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business.From his initial involvement with the first online communities in the 1970s, through founding one of the first personal computer training companies in the 1980s, one of the first wireless data information networks in the 1990s, and the first global angel investing platform in the 2000s, David has been at the forefront of innovation in business and technology.Among the fields in which he has been actively involved as an executive, board member or investor are: wireless communications, consumer electronics, crowdsourcing, international finance, social networking, space tourism, user-generated content, online video, mobile network security, biological testing, electronic music, citizen journalism, out-of-home advertising, fiber-optic networking, concierge medicine, online marketing, interactive voice response, and many others.As an entrepreneurial executive himself, David is the founder and CEO of Gust, which operates the world’s largest online platform and community for entrepreneurs and early stage investors. Gust is used by over 650,000 entrepreneurs in 191 countries to connect with over 80,000 early stage investors.He is also Managing Director of Rose Tech Ventures; Founder and Chairman Emeritus of New York Angels; Co-founder and Managing Director of the AREA Technology Accelerator; and Associate Founder and Founding Track Chair for Finance and Entrepreneurship at Singularity University, the Google/NASA-sponsored post-graduate program in exponential technologies.David was the first investor and Chairman of the Board of JUMP Bikes, acquired by Uber, serves as a board director of KoolSpan; and Moven, and is an active early stage investor in companies including RealtyMogul, Space Adventures, PerformLine, Magnetic and Urbanr.David is well known in the business startup community for discovering and mentoring high-potential entrepreneurs, and has been profiled by BusinessWeek as “The Pitch Coach” for his ability to help CEOs perfect their fundraising skills. He is a regular speaker at the TED conferences, and his TEDtalk on How to Pitch a VC has been viewed over a million times. David has been named a Top Writer for five years in a row by Quora, the knowledge-based website where his more than eight thousand answer to questions about entrepreneurship and investing have garnered him over 80,000 followers. His writings have been featured in Inc. magazine, Huffington Post, Slate, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. David is a frequent lecturer at business schools including Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Cambridge, UVA, CUNY, Pace, and Stevens, and he was named Mentor of the Year by NYU’s Stern School of Business.Prior to founding AirMedia Corporation in 1988, for which he served as CEO for over ten years, his career included over fifteen years in real estate development, government, teaching and urban planning. David was co-founder and Chairman of The Computer Classroom and Vice President at Rose Associates, Inc. Earlier, he served as Deputy Director of the New York office of US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Jon Sawyer, Founding Director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

Jon Sawyer is founding director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit organization that funds independent reporting with the intent of raising the standard of media coverage and engaging the broadest possible public in global affairs. The Center supports over 200 journalism projects a year, partnering with major newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets as well as hundreds of universities, high schools, and secondary schools.

Jon, previously Washington bureau chief for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was selected three years in a row for the National Press Club's award for best foreign reporting. Work supported by the Pulitzer Center has won national Emmys, the Pulitzer Prize, and multiple awards from Global Press Photos, the Overseas Press Club, and the Robert F. Kennedy Awards. The Center has won best online journalism prizes from the National Press Foundation, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Press Club.